If you don’t have enough free time but still want to clean your blinds, this hack is for you. Use rubber bands to get a pair of tongs and attach microfiber cloths to them. Wet them with some dish soap and water.

Run the “cleaning tongs” along the length of each slat so you can scrub both sides in one motion. Does this work with regular socks put on your spare set of tongs? Of course! Well, microfiber is the recommended choice of cloth but feel free to improvise. The question is, do you use the good socks?

If you have horizontal blinds, pull them down as far as they go and keep the slats closed. Go over the blinds in a back-and-forth motion using the hose attachment on your vacuum.

Start with the highest slat. This way, any dirt or dust will not land on an area you already cleaned. Once you are done with one side, switch the slats in the other direction and repeat the process.

First, you need to close the blinds to access as much of the surface area of each slat as possible. but, you knew that already!

Using the brush attachment of your vacuum, simply run the brush along each piece so you can remove debris and dust. Prevent unhooking of the slats by working from the top down. Switch the slats to the other direction and repeat the process.

Once you vacuum your wood blinds, spray the slats with a wood-safe furniture cleaner and wipe them down with a dry, clean microfiber cloth.

Wood blinds are highly sensitive to harsh chemicals and excess moisture. Avoid using water or anything that will make them warp.

Usually, the vacuum will do the trick, however, if you want to take this to another level, combine 1 cup of warm water and 2 tablespoons of clear liquid dish soap.

Then, gently dab any stains or dirty spots with a microfiber cloth dampened in the mixture, until the spot disappears. For any stubborn stains, you can also use white vinegar. Be sure to keep the blinds extended when drying before pulling them back up.

While the CDC guideline says a person should exercise at least 30 minutes a day, many wonder if that half an hour is truly enough to compensate for all the time people spend sitting. That is not a very difficult question to answer because short research into the topic shows that 30 minutes of daily exercise will not cancel out an entire day of sitting. So, it is key to add more movement to a daily routine to counter the effects of a sedentary lifestyle.

There Is a Lot of Research Done on the Effects of Sitting and Exercise

Most people know that spending long periods sitting down isn’t good for the body. Doctors and physical therapists say that it can cause poor circulation while weakening gluteal and large leg muscles. Poor posture may also cause spine discs to compress more than they normally would and accelerate their degeneration. There is also a large body of research showing that sitting for long periods and a sedentary lifestyle is detrimental to long-term health. A recent study following some 100,000 participants determined that sitting for eight or more hours a day correlated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and even death. Meanwhile, sitting for less than four hours a day and exercising every day reduced those risks significantly.

30 Minutes of Exercise Can Be Enough but Not for Everyone

Other studies looked at the benefits of getting 30 minutes of daily exercise. After following over 130,000 people for about 14 years, researchers determined that half an hour of exercise reduced the risk of death by about 80% percent in people who sit for less than seven hours a day. However, those 30 minutes of exercise had a less positive effect on people who spent seven to 11 hours sitting and no positive effect on people who have over 11 hours of sitting a day.

Creative Ways to Exercise Can Make Everything Simpler and Easier

Researchers recommend that people who work for eight hours a day sitting should do about an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise a day. Getting two to four hours of light activity before and after work is a great way to counter the hours of sitting down. Good ways to invest in physical activity include getting a treadmill in the TV room, taking a dog out for a long walk in the morning, or doing house chores before work. Stretching and doing squats after exercise is also useful. Some people also prefer to invest in a standing desk. A good way to keep things in balance is to dedicate more time to physical activity during the weekends.